An Elven King out of Middle Earth
by songsofmiddleearth
Summary: You find the Elven King Thranduil in a forest, and have to teach him about life in 21st century Earth. An unlikely alliance turns into friendship, then romance. When the opportunity to return to Middle Earth arises, will he take you with him? (New story - can't promise regular updates, just seeing where the writing goes!)


(Y/N) was strolling happily along the forest path, Bailey padding happily in front of you. A smile spread across your face as the brown Labrador paused to look back, anxiously checking you were still there before bounding forward, her brown tail swishing back and forth as she sniffed this and that. You didn't think you could love anything in the world more than you loved your dog. Birds sang overhead, and you greeted a passing couple demurely, smiling shyly and quickly averting your eyes to the ground in front of your feet. Being an introvert was the thing you used to hate most about yourself – but once you had accepted that this was YOU, you had embraced it, no longer trying to fake enthusiasm or confidence. Strangely enough, once you had given up pretending to be someone you weren't, you noticed that people responded more positively to you - as though they could somehow sense a self-assured inner peace that had been missing before.

Soon enough you reached the little cafe in the centre of the forest, busy as always. Sitting down at a wooden table outside, you tied Bailey to the bench leg before heading inside to grab a coffee, giving her a quick scratch behind the ear and cooing to reassure her you'll be back in a second. Once inside, your jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the scene before you. The most beautiful man you had ever seen was standing at the counter, having a disagreement with the equally flustered cashier. Flawless white-blonde hair flowed over his shoulders halfway down his back, and his thick black brows were knotted together in frustration. He was dressed as though he were in some kind of historical re-enactment, silver trousers and doublet covered by a rich deep red robe. An expensive looking jewel sparkled on his right hand, and a stunning broach nestled under a raised collar. As you stared, you realised pointed ears poked through his waterfall of blonde hair – he was an elf!

Snapping out of it, you closed your mouth and swallowed as his deep voice flowed across the room. "I assure you, I will repay whatever value is owed in full. You have my word." Annoyance seeped through the final sentence, and his shocking blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the confused girl behind the counter. "I'm sorry", she managed, "I can't serve you if you can't pay now! If it were up to me I would, but my supervisor wouldn't allow it, I could lose my job." Holding her hands up and shrugging, she looked at him then the crowd gathered behind him helplessly. "Sorry", she offered again meekly. The man exhaled heavily through his nose, and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them and inclined his head slightly towards her before turning to leave, flicking his long robe behind him to one side.

You had watched all of this in disbelief. As soon as you had spotted the ears, Thranduil from the hobbit films had popped into your head. And the more you looked, the more you were sure that yes, this man MUST be cosplaying his character. He wasn't identical to Lee Pace, but the resemblance to the depiction of Thranduil in the movies was striking. Whoever he was, you were very, very intrigued. Although you had never cosplayed yourself, you loved the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit franchises, and had read the Hobbit book a few times. The customers gathered behind him watching the scene unfold waiting to be served were gawking, and so too had you been – but then you thought, well, what better place to cosplay an Elven King than in the middle of a forest, right? You checked your watch; it was pushing 7pm. He must have been here all day, and forgot his wallet or to pack some food.

As he turned away from the counter, you surprised yourself and walked towards him. "What is it you were wanting to buy?" you asked. He paused and looked down at you, surprise fleeting across his handsome features as his azure eyes bore into your ordinary blue ones. A heartbeat passed, then another, and another. The moment seemed to stretch on forever and you felt your pulse speed up as you forced yourself not to break the eye contact. "Merely some bread and water," he rumbled, looking disdainfully back towards the cashier girl, "although I see now that the hospitality of men is somewhat lacking in this land". As he moved to leave, you opened your purse and smiled at the cashier. "Hi, umm I'll take a latte to go please, and can I have a bottle of water and some of that banana bread too?" She stared at you, her mouth slightly agape, before collecting herself. Muttering "sure", she moved to complete your order. You turned to see the Thranduil-impersonator gazing intently at you, and blushed under his heavy stare. You offered a small smile, but he didn't say anything, and suddenly you became uncomfortably aware of the half a dozen pairs of eyes trained on you. Turning back around, you watched the cashier finish making the coffee and bag your items, wishing you could just melt into the ground. After what seemed like a lifetime, you thanked her and quickly took the order, moving away from the counter.

A moment passed, and then the next customer moved forward, taking some of the attention off you. You offered the bag to the mystery man, and he stared at it before accepting it with an incline of his head. "My thanks. That was very generous of you." A shiver ran down your spine. God, his voice was amazing. "Oh, don't worry about it, really" you replied, flustered, as you both moved towards the door. "It wasn't much money, I'm sure anyone would have done the same". "And yet they did not", he said, pausing once you were outside and staring down at you. You tore your eyes away from his, and looked at his chest instead. Swallowing, you looked back up. He was still staring at you. Fuck, he was handsome! "Well, they're probably just confused about what you're wearing" you said with humour, "Are you cosplaying?". Confusion flitted across his fair face. "I am afraid I do not know what that is". Oh. Still in character, you thought. You didn't know what to say, so you just offered a small laugh. Bailey's whine broke the awkward silence. "Well, I'd better be getting back to my dog!" you said, smiling at him and quickly returning to your bench, leaving him standing by the cafe door. You stroked Bailey nervously, struggling to control your rapid breathing. Taking a sip of your coffee, you steadied yourself and smiled proudly. You had been trying to do one thing every day that took you out of your comfort zone, and that was definitely enough social awkwardness for an entire month. Bailey's excited bark brought you out of your musings, and you looked up to see fake-Thranduil standing in front of you across the table. "May I sit?" he asked politely, and you gulped, nodding silently. Again, he inclined his head and sat down smoothly. You watched him curiously as he unfolded the brown paper bag, and took out the banana bread. Hesitating, he used his fingers to break off a section, as though reluctant to eat without cutlery. After swallowing, his alluring voice sounded again; "I was wondering", he began, "if you would be so kind as to assist me in finding my way. I am afraid I am very lost."

You stared at this strange man sat across from you, frowning in confusion. Every logical bone in your body was screaming at you to tell this weirdo to get lost – he wasn't breaking character. You didn't know how to respond; you didn't want to play his game. Were you meant to pretend that elves were real? You didn't say anything, but continued to study him, openly this time. His clothes were fine – too fine to have been bought off eBay. They looked custom made – that would have been expensive. His hair was definitely real hair – not the coarse, yellow blonde wigs cosplayers usually wear. Examining his brow, you saw no tell-tale sign of the wig's seam. Was that really his natural hair? Your face furrowed more in confusion. The back of your neck prickled as you looked into his eyes. Unnaturally blue, they weren't human eyes. If they were contacts, they were the most convincing ones you'd ever seen. The thought you had banished the moment you had seen his pointed ear resurfaced again, and this time you couldn't push it away. Was this a real elf? Was this actually, somehow, Thranduil? Was Middle Earth a real place, discovered by Tolkien whose writings were then seized and turned into a multi-million movie franchise? These ideas were ridiculous, you knew. Lunacy even. And yet, there was something in you that wanted to believe in it, in all of it.

"Alright", you said calmly. "One question – are you a real elf?"

He looked at you, an unreadable expression on his face. "Yes." He stated.

You nodded. "Prove it."


End file.
